Cue Card Sample
IELTS Cue Card # 147 - Someone who has had an important influence in your life
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IELTS Speaking Part 2: IELTS Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card.
Describe someone who has had an important influence in your life.
You should say:
- who the person is
- how long you have known him/her
- what qualities this person has
and explain why this person has had such an influence in your life.
[You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes. You have one minute to think about what you are going to say. You can make some notes to help you if you wish.]
Model Answer 1:
As far as I remember, the routine of waking up early in the morning, getting forced to eat boiled eggs during breakfast, and then getting ready to go to my elementary school started from the very early days of my childhood. But, if I ever "dared" to miss any of these routine works, even if it was by mistake or a “childish negligence”, I had to ‘contend’ with a very strong, and yet, a very familiar “disciplinary lady voice” at my house to remain in strict compliance with the “routine” at all cost. Well, we can perhaps all guess who that “lady voice” might belong to.
That’s right… the voice belonged to none other than my own mother - the mother who carried me for more than nine months inside of her womb, fed me, clothed me, cleaned me, and comforted me when nobody else in this world would succeed in doing so.
My mother’s influence in shaping me into the person I am today is monumental. In fact, whatever I have learnt, and whatever I have achieved, so far in my life, is contributed to my mother one way or another because of her “exemplary” mothering qualities. It is because of my mother that I learnt how to work as hard and relentlessly as I could and then “rising” again and again after failing. It is, in fact, my mother who taught me how to take “bold” but “unpopular” decisions in life if the situation demands it.
I have never seen my mother in the past, along with my father, failing in “rising” against me to my absolute “disgust” and “discontent”, if I was ever committing anything wrong, only to find out later on that she would do it in the best interest of her loving child. And, as a result, this adult me, still to this date, “fears” for the “wrath” of his mother in case if I ever get caught up on the wrong side of a bargain in this rather complicated journey of life.
My mother also encouraged me not to go after “the luxuries and comforts” of life too much and “chase” human respect, instead. And I can’t agree with her anymore on this, seeing how much I love and cherish the respect from another fellow human being, even though I may not have much “monetary success” in life. Finally, my mother was and still is a “strict” person with a bit “temper” because of working relentlessly to raise her family against many adversities, but I have never seen her failing in short when it came to showing the love for her family and children no matter how bad the situation is. And, it is because of my mother, I have learnt to appreciate love and family more than anything in this world.
Sample Answer 2:
I can remember more than four or five persons who have made an unparalleled contribution to help me march forward in my life, while also inspired me to rise straight every time I fell. Among them my father’s contribution is unforgettable and I consider him the idol of my life. He is the person whom I love most in this world, and I consider him to be an almost perfect human being with his uncompromised honesty, bravery and sense of responsibility.
I know my father from the very beginning of my life as he and my mother brought me into this world. From my childhood, he has raised me with his love, affection and mentorship. He taught me about the world - its magic and hardship, people and our relationship, and the importance of morality in life. He helped me with my education and has devoted his life to properly raise me.
My father is an exemplary person who has led an honest life. As a high ranking government officer, he had many chances to pile up the riches, but he had always known what was the right thing to do. I have learnt how our character is more important than our wealth from him! He is now a retired person and leads his serene and peaceful life with contentment and happiness. He was and still is a brave person who has never feared the rough power of society.
As a father, I would say he has done everything humanly possible to raise me and my three other siblings. He spent his entire earning for our happiness and necessity while he went through financial hardship. I learned the true meaning of life from him and have started achieving some of the qualities he has. The person who I am now is mostly because of my father's devotion and dedication. To me, he is an ideal person whom I often mimic and consider as my idol in life.
Part 3 – Two-way discussion:
Q. What type of people influence the young in your country? Why?
Q. Why is it important to have role models in our life?
Q. Do you think the education system in your country influences young people’s behaviour? How?
Q. What types of persons (parents, teachers, friends etc.) are best to influence young people’s behaviour?
Q. What do you think young people will be most influenced by in the future?
Q. What influences does social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, have on the young generation in your country?
Q. What type of people influence the young in your country? Why?
Answer: When it comes to getting influenced by others, young people probably are a bit more exposed to that trend, primarily because they are a bit more “bold and adventurous” than the others.
Anyway, when it comes to what type of people influence the young in my country, it is most certainly the sports superstars, film stars, successful businessmen, social media influencers and other contemporary celebrities, who tend to have the upper hands in this case. And as for the reasons behind becoming influenced, it’s generally the boosting of self-respect and self-confidence that top the list.
Q. Why is it important to have role models in our life?
Answer: Having good role models in our life, especially when we are growing up as adults, is certainly a very positive and important thing because they, the good role models, influence us and impact our lives one way or another, by helping us uncover our true potentials along the way. After all, good role models, or people who we can actually identify ourselves with, always inspire us when going through struggles and challenges in our life.
Q. Do you think the education system in your country influences young people’s behaviour? How?
Answer: If there is one thing that probably influences the young people’s behaviour in a very direct and significant manner, then it has to be the education system, and I am glad that the education system of my country goes a long way to ensure that the young people of my country become productive citizens by teaching them the values of hard works and disciplines. Another aspect of our education system, which I really like, is that it encourages the youth to get involved with different kinds of sports so that they receive enough exercise to remain healthy throughout their entire lives.
Q. What types of persons (parents, teachers, friends etc.) are best to influence young people’s behaviour?
Answer: Well, when discussing such an important issue as to what types of people influence young people’s behaviour in the best way, one has to exercise extreme caution. Having said that, however, I would like to venture out to put “parents” on top of the list here because, more often than not, it’s the parents with whom the young people spend most of their time. After all, there is very little room to argue with the universal truth that the foundation of very early learnings and behaviours starts with the parents.
Q. What do you think young people will be most influenced by in the future?
Answer: Well, the world is changing so rapidly around us that it would be really difficult to guess as to what possibly could or couldn’t influence the young people, or for that matter anybody of us. Besides, reading the minds of young people can be a very difficult thing since they are so adventurous and restless most of the time. Anyway, putting all these variable factors aside, I would like to venture to suggest that the technological innovations, which best align with their fast life, are likely influence the young people in the future. They would be influenced by what they watch or hear on their gadgets and their learning and behaviour would also probably be shaped by this in the future.
Q. What influences does social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, have on the young generation in your country?
Answer: These days, it would be extremely difficult to find any young people who haven’t been influenced in some ways by things like Facebook and other social media like Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and so on, and the young people of my county is no exception. From sharing news or updates of their lives and buying or selling things online to searching for jobs, the young people of my country are virtually doing anything and everything with the help of these social media to make their life easy. In fact, the influence of social media has reached such a peak that concerned authorities are being alarmed with its excessive use and influence, especially among young people.
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